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Murasaki Shikibu: A Reign of One Thousand Years Christine Cousins

Genji, the Shinning Prince, is a master of painting, music, calligraphy, and poetry, and as such would surely have recognized the mastery in Shikibu's writing. The success of Murasaki's fictional Tale of Genji over the next thousand years, as demonstrated by the ten thousand books on the subject by the 1960s, cannot simply be the result of the peculiarity of a woman writer.1 Indeed, the evolution of literature during the Heian time period and its connections to Chinese influences contributed to a phenomenon in which woman were the predominant literary producers.2 A component of Genji's success can be attributed to Murasaki's innovative use of literary form through the previously unknown , but even one thousand years later, when the novel is not revolutionary, the work is still part of Japanese culture. Murasaki's execution in writing her work is another necessary component to Genji's success, since her skill in portraying the complex interconnections of the , as well as her plot and characters, underlie the tale’s merit. People have found value in this work for centuries, but Genji's legacy can be distinctly seen in the significance it has accrued in Murasaki's country during times of increasing modernization and Western influence. Translations of the tale into modern Japanese, including those by Yosano Akiko, preserve a national identity, particularly as it relates to literature and culture. Murasaki utilized the opportunities available to her as a woman in the Heian period to create a master work that would, over the course of a thousand years, influence the very form of culture in . The Heian period received its name from the capital city whose creation marked the beginning of the period, Heian Kyō, the City of Peace and Tranquility.3 The Heian period is a remarkably long span of time, from about two years prior to the city's foundation in 794 to 1167, but it is the late Heian, from about 967-1167 into

1 Ivan Morris, The World of the Shinning Prince (Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1978), 276. 2 Ibid., 200. 3 Ibid., 2. 4 which Murasaki was born, somewhere around the year 973.4 By Murasaki's time, the Heian had "reached a high cultural standard," though this standard was held by only the elite.5 Painting, music, and, of course, literature were valuable to this society in which "artistic sensibility was more highly valued than ethical goodness."6 Literature in particular developed in a distinctive manner through the Heian period due to the large scale of integration of Chinese culture. In the eighth century during the Nara period "every aspect of Chinese culture was avidly adopted."7 By the ninth century, however, this adoption was much more selective on the part of the Japanese, and by Murasaki's time the relationship between Japan and China was primarily that of past influences.8 A classical education in Chinese was still crucial to culture and scholarship, however, as Chinese remained the language of scholars and official practices.9 had been developed as the phonetic transcription of Japanese, and allowed writing in vernacular Japanese.10 This had a peculiar effect on woman and their relationship to writing and literature, since Chinese "became the exclusive domain of the male," and kana became the domain of the female.11 Women were discouraged from learning the , and therefore they turned to vernacular Japanese.12 This effected the genres in which they wrote, for though women wrote poetry as part of daily Heian communication, much of the prose work that they completed were historical romances or regarded the private sphere.13 The diary became a prominent vessel for women to express and write about the spheres which were familiar to them,14 but it was

4 Ibid., 3; Richard Bowring, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988), 4. 5 Morris, Shinning Prince, 170. 6 Ibid., 195. 7 Ibid., 6. 8 Ibid., 9-10. 9 Ibid., 200. 10 Ibid. 11 Bowring, Murasaki Shikibu The Tale of Genji, 10. 12 Roselee Bundy, "Japan's First Woman Diarist and the Beginnings of Prose Writings by Women in Japan," Women's Studies 19, no. 1 (1991): 81. 13 Ibid. 14 Ibid., 94. 5 not a diary as might be imagined today.15 Women's diaries in the Heian period often differed from those of men in that they were not a description of day to day events, but rather a collection of reminiscences and personal moments or thoughts, often reflected from later points of distance.16 Women were seen as the primary literary producers of such genres to such an extent that men who wished to write diaries in the phonetic script might even use a female pseudonym.17 It is within this landscape of literature that Murasaki learned and wrote, and it was this landscape that shaped both the content and the form of her work. Within this literary landscape it is also important to note that Murasaki's circumstances were those of aristocratic women, who though possessing leisure time and education, still faced certain structured social roles. Additionally, many of the notable women and literary producers from the late Heian period were ladies in waiting at an Empress' court, where they enjoyed certain advantages.18 Women outside of active court service faced greater restrictions, generally being confined indoors or behind a screen of state, and were not allowed to show herself to men other than her husband or father.19 Aristocratic women were also still subject to a rigorous structure of marriage politics, which included the further complications of polygamy and different tiers of acceptable marriages.20 Principal wives were often arranged due to political and economic importance between participants of similar class, while secondary wives or concubines, such as Genji's young Murasaki, were still formal and publically accepted. Casual affairs were not only accepted, but part of a man's prestige, and carried out in a highly structured and proper manner.21 In many aspects Murasaki was typical for the female author of the time who took advantage of the genres and writing available to her. Murasaki also wrote a diary and poetic memoirs, and parts of

15 Richard Bowring, "Introduction," in Her Diary and Poetic Memoirs, Murasaki Shikibu, trans. Richard Bowring (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1982), 19. 16 Ibid. 17 Morris, Shinning Prince, 200. 18 Ibid., 44. 19 Ibid., 210. 20 Ibid., 207. 21 Bundy, "Japan's First Woman Diarist," 218; Ibid., 220-225. 6 these texts are still accessible to this day, despite some difficulty ascertaining their order and state of completion.22 While these authorial feats place her within the common structure of aristocratic Heian women who were literate and possessed the leisure time to write, the diary is also often used to examine a life of a woman about whom very little is actually known.23 The actual name of Murasaki Shikibu is one such unknown fact; the name Murasaki come from a nickname based on the character of Genji's favored lover, and the name Shikibu comes from her father's title.24 There is general agreement that Murasaki was part of a strong literary tradition from her father and grandfather, and was even exceptional in that she knew the Chinese characters.25 She records in her diary that she learned the language from listening in on her brother's lessons, though she also describes the secrecy and occasional shame she felt at this knowledge.26 Murasaki was not unusual in her role as the female author of Genji, but rather in the Chinese, or the male, knowledge she possessed. Murasaki documents in her diary a moment when His Majesty remarks upon hearing Genji read aloud that Murasaki must be learned, perhaps even having read the Chronicles of Japan, and a woman defames Murasaki by saying she was "flaunting [her] learning."27 The Chronicles as history would have represented a realm of knowledge not normally available to women, one that would move Murasaki from her accepted realm into the male sphere where she could be subjected to censure. Her life, regarding both her writing and her experiences, was defined by the structures of the court. Despite her relation to the dominant she was far from the seat of actual power, even after her marriage to Fujiwara no Nobutaka in 998.28 Murasaki bore him one daughter, but was

22 Richard Bowring, "Murasaki Shikibu," in Her Diary and Poetic Memoirs, Murasaki Shikibu, trans. Richard Bowring (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1982), 3. 23 Bundy, "Japan's First Woman Diarist," 81; Bowring, "Murasaki Shikibu," 3. 24 Ibid., 12. 25 Bowring, Murasaki Shikibu The Tale of Genji, 4. 26 Murasaki Shikibu, Her Diary and Poetic Memoirs, trans. Richard Bowring (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1982), 138. 27 Shikibu, Her Diary and Poetic Memoirs, 137. 28 Bowring, Murasaki Shikibu The Tale of Genji, 4. 7 widowed soon after in 1001, and it was likely here during her widowhood that she began writing Genji.29 About five years after her husband's death, Murasaki entered service with Empress Shōshi as a companion and tutor, but even when describing in her diary her study of Chinese with the Empress there is a sense of secrecy to the work.30 It is not the discovery by the men, who actually gave the two women books to learn from, that was worrisome, but discovery by the other waiting women who could have continued the gossip that Murasaki already experienced.31 Murasaki's absence on a list of Shōshi's ladies in waiting in 1031 is used as a probable marker of her death, though she could have passed away several years before this point.32 Until her death the literary values of the Heian period shaped Murasaki's life through her ability to write, but also impacted her learning and were deeply intertwined with social conventions. Even with these conventions and her function within her prescribed court role Murasaki manages to extend beyond the common diary or historical romance through incredible acts of innovation. This is one potential explanation for why Genji has reached acclaim a thousand years after her death; after all, "she practically invented its genre on the spot."33 Murasaki had no access to a previous model, yet prevailed in creating a work that predated what many reference books cite as the beginnings of the novel, including roots in Chaucer and his cohort and development in the eighteenth century through the authors such as Defoe.34 In addition, though Murasaki was innovative in her development of her literature, she did not sacrifice quality for innovation, or even for quantity considering the enormous length of the Tale of Genji. This quality is found within Murasaki's depiction of the unique culture of the Heian period and its relation to beauty in The Tale of Genji. While this fact and Genji's ability to escort readers on a journey through the past can be seen as another component of Murasaki's success, simple historical curiosity on behalf of the modern reader fails to take into account the skills of the author.

29 Bowring, "Murasaki Shikibu," 10. 30 Ibid., 11. 31 Shikibu, Her Diary and Poetic Memoirs, 137. 32 Bowring, "Murasaki Shikibu," 5. 33 M. Thomas Inge, "Lady Murasaki and the Craft of Fiction," South Atlantic Review 55, no. 22 (1990): 10. 34 Ibid., 13. 8

Murasaki does not simply tell a tale of the time, but portrays the characteristics of her society as art, as seen in her hero Genji. Genji is valued not for his strength, nor simply for his beauty, but for his many artistic accomplishments. At a young age he is already distinguished in scholarship and music, and if you "were to list all the things at which he excelled, [you] would only succeed in making him sound absurd."35 The hero of Murasaki's tale exemplifies the Heian valuation of artistry, and through his actions elements of the Heian court are brought to life. Poetry is one such element brought to life by and within Genji. Highly valued and frequently used in Heian culture, poetry was intricately intertwined with letters as it was customary for men and women to exchange letters of poetry throughout the courtship or seduction process.36 "The people of Genji's world regarded handwriting as a mirror of a person's soul," and thus all elements of the letter, such as the paper, the accompanying gift, and even the messengers were carefully chosen.37 Genji exemplifies this care, when he first finds young Murasaki, Murasaki Shikibu's namesake, and tries to persuade her guardians that he is earnest in his pursuit despite the girl's young age. To young Murasaki, Genji sends little knotted letters with the required poems in addition to larger letters for her guardians, and his mastery at this art form is revealed by the fact that "even the casual way he had done up the letter dazzled the eyes of the aging nuns."38 The level of ability required in writing these letters is further used by the girl's grandmother in defense; "surely there is no point in pursuing" his suit, considering that young Murasaki "cannot even write her kana letters properly yet."39 Learning, here, is a mark of rank and prestige, and the art of letter writing that reveals Genji to be remarkable is also what reveals his new interest's lack of suitability at the current time. Murasaki conveys many elements of her culture in a single scene, but then proceeds to intertwine all these scenes, including their characters, into an intricate tale with a comprehensive plot and delicate interactions.

35 Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji, trans. Royall Tyler (New York: Penguin Books Ltd., 2006), 10. 36 Morris, Shinning Prince, 214. 37 Bowring, Murasaki Shikibu The Tale of Genji, 15; Morris, Shinning Prince, 184. 38 Shikibu, The Tale of Genji, 106. 39 Ibid. 9

Since Genji is the hero of the tale, and his romantic interactions are the focus of much of the plot, it follows that this hero must be a substantial reason for Murasaki's success. One need only look at the development of Genji to realize that this work follows the man as he grows and changes, developing in accordance with the modern physiological novel.40 Even as the sentimentality of Genji has long been his defining characteristic, this sentimentality still evolves, as noted by a group of old nuns surrounding Fujitsubo: "one wondered how anyone that fortunate could know much of life; but he is very thoughtful now."41 Genji, under the care and authorship of Murasaki, develops psychologically as he progresses through his life and his tale, thus providing a subtle demonstration of authorial craftsmanship. Yet it is not her hero alone that Murasaki develops, but her secondary characters also have a rich life both within their world of the Heian period, and within the world of their own existence. There are several hundred individual characters in her work, yet these characters maintain a sense of reality, of following their place within the complex structures of both their Heian society and Murasaki's plot. 42 This skill is further shown in Murasaki's treatment of characters such as her namesake, the young Murasaki, who upon the first consummation of her relationship with Genji wonders why "she had ever trusted anyone with such horrid ideas."43 Even as the young woman ages and understands better both her role and Genji, she is also willing to go into exile with him. This is explained not only through the sense of a well nurtured love, but also because "Genji was all she had," and speaks to his act of raising the girl since she was young as well as the isolation and dependence she would have felt upon being suddenly bereft from him. 44 Young Murasaki is a character that the reader witnesses age and develop, but her progress seems natural through Murasaki's descriptions of both Genji's tutelage, and through the events of her past that contribute to who she is at a given moment in the text. These moments significantly

40 Ibid., 380. 41 Shikibu, The Tale of Genji, 217. 42 Brian Phillips, "The Tale of Genji as a Modern Novel," The Hudson Review 63, no.3 (2010): 377. 43 Ibid., 182. 44 Ibid., 226. 10 underscore different versions of Murasaki; she is a character who grows. Authorial skill is further revealed in more obvious moments of craftsmanship, such as when the voice of a narrator intrudes. In recording a conversation between Genji's father and the heir apparent the occasional narrator claims that "a woman has no business" relating the details of the conversation.45 This creates an effect of distance, reminding the audience that this is a story being told, and informs the reader that there is an undercurrent of social roles going on in the telling. Elements such as this convey a sense of the Western modernist movement hundreds of years before its official beginning. Murasaki alerts the reader to the fact that the story is an act of creation, similar the modernist movement, and her use of this technique becomes one more reason why the novel is viewed as advanced and of significant quality.46 This sophistication further manifests in the sense of foreboding that gets stronger as the work progresses and Genji becomes darker and more psychological.47 Genji is often overcome by darkness or negativity after celebrations or great joys, and it is through his reflections that some of the greater acts of poetry and artistry of the work are revealed.48 Detailed and comprehensive study on the poetry of the novel can, and has, been done, not the least that of Motoori Norinaga and the emergence of , or the connection of the emotive to the aesthetic.49 The direct influence that Genji had on literary culture can be more deeply explored in elements of poetry, Noh plays, and other formats, but is also seen in the nationalistic focus on translating the novel for modern Japanese audiences in the Meiji and Showa periods.50 The Tale of Genji was significant for centuries even before the Meiji and Showa periods, and its history can be traced from Murasaki's own diary which reveals portions were read aloud at

45 Phillips, "As a Modern Novel," 194. 46 Inge, "The Craft of Fiction," 13. 47 Phillips, "As a Modern Novel," 381. 48 Morris, Shinning Prince, 13. 49 Tomiko Yoda, "Fractured Dialogues: Mono no aware and Poetic Communication in The Tale of Genji," Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 59, no.2 (1999): 524. 50 Phillips, "As a Modern Novel," 386. 11 court.51 It wasn't until the twelfth century, though, that the tale became prominent, indeed was considered a classic for those who studied poetry.52 By the end of the twelfth century, however, Murasaki was in some trouble due to the nature of her work as fiction, and not portraying the eternal truths of Buddhism.53 Another change to the reception of Genji came with the urban culture of the Tokugawa from 1600-1860 as printing brought the work to a wider audience, though the expense of such an undertaking prevented a truly large readership.54 This concept of a larger audience would continue to play out in later eras as a reaction to Westernization and within the desire to preserve Japanese culture. Yosano Akiko was one of the first to produce a modern Japanese translation, and did so in four volumes between 1912 and 1913.55 Yosano Akiko's position as a prominent author is not all that made her suitable for this role, for she had long been an advocate for Genji, having read the work when young and stated that she "was early able to understand what is about because Murasaki Shikibu was my teacher."56 Part of the success of Yosano's first version, the Shin'yaku Genji , can be seen in Yosano's reliance on her translations for revenue, since there must be some connection between the fact that translating Genji paid well and the value that people placed on the text.57 Additionally, the work was a success due to, "not only of the gifts of its author but also of the political uses to which The Tale of Genji was put."58 Throughout the Meiji period Genji was used to train people in traditional literature, a task Yosano participated in through several lectures on Genji, and to teach the mass readership of Japan.59 The accessibility of a translated Tale of Genji was one of the reasons for its production, since it meant

51 Shikibu, Her Diary and Poetic Memoirs, 137. 52 Bowring, Murasaki Shikibu The Tale of Genji, 84. 53 Ibid., 86-7. 54 Ibid., 92. 55 G.G. Rowley, "Literary Canon and National Identity: The Tale of Genji in Meiji Japan," Japan Forum 9, no. 1 (1997): 1. 56 G.G. Rowley, "Making a Living from Genji: Yosano Akiko and Her Work on The Tale of Genji," The Journal of the Association of Teachers of Japanese 25, no. 1 (1991): 30. 57 Ibid., 29. 58 Rowley, "Literary Canon and National Identity," 2. 59 Ibid. 12 a larger number of people could actually read the story and be influenced by the work itself.60 Genji was seen as a civilizing text through its approach to beauty and culture, a representation of true Japanese values that was different from the warrior nature of the .61 In this manner Genji was able to become an ideal of historical culture for the literary cannon, but was also beneficial in shaping Japanese identity. The importance of Genji regarding a Japanese canon and cultural value only became more prominent throughout the Showa period as national identity became a growing concern in the face of increasing modernization and Westernization. In another attempt to modernize Genji Tanizaki Jun'ichirō and Yamada Yoshio serve as a perfect example, for they attempted to revive what they saw as an authentic language.62 Tanizaki in particular valued Genji for its language and its ability to capture the shadowy and allusive nature of an experience.63 Tanizaki proves significant as an example in another respect, however, since he also had misgivings about the content and morality of Genji.64 Though there were a variety of differing opinions surrounding the classic, there were many different ways in which Murasaki and her work could contribute to creating a national identity for Japan. It wasn't just authors like Yosano Akiko who could find inspiration in Genji, but also citizens who could take "pride in a native genius."65 Murasaki was influenced by the Heian culture in which she lived in both her ability to write and in the content of Genji, but what was truly significant about her work is the mastery that defined it, and the ways the consequences of her work would be felt for over a thousand years in Japan. Genji may never have been emperor in his world, but Genji has had a far longer reign in Murasaki's world than any Heian emperor could have imagined. As translations into English become more prominent in the West, Genji's reign can only be extended. Murasaki's work can be used to expand upon the Western

60 Ibid., 7. 61 Ibid., 9. 62 Brian Hurley, "Toward a New Modern Vernacular: Tanizaki Jun'ichirō and Yamada Yoshio, and Showa Restoration Thought," Journal of Japanese Studies 39, no. 1 (2013): 359. 63 Ibid., 379. 64 Ibid., 381. 65 Ibid., 6. 13 perception of literature, which is often understood through a traditionally narrow worldview.66 Murasaki Shikibu and Genji have much to offer both Japan and the Western world in the way of understanding literature and culture, but also in the way that those elements intertwine. The exact secret of Murasaki's longevity is as much a mystery as the authors own name; hypotheses can abound and nicknames be accepted as truth, but perhaps the answer will never be found. Such a thought should not come with consternation, however, for it is merely an excuse to continue examining the work and impact of an exquisite author.

66 Inge, "The Craft of Fiction," 14. 14

Bibliography

Bowring, Richard. "Introduction." In Her Diary and Poetic Memoirs, written by Murasaki Shikibu, translated by Richard Bowring, 19-41. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1982.

Bowring, Richard. "Murasaki Shikibu." In Her Diary and Poetic Memoirs, written by Murasaki Shikibu, translated by Richard Bowring, 3-16. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1982.

Bowring, Richard. Murasaki Shikibu. The Tale of Genji. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988.

Bundy, Roselee, "Japan's First Woman Diarist and the Beginnings of Prose Writings by Women in Japan," Women's Studies 19, no. 1 (1991): 79-97.

Hurley, Brian, "Toward a New Modern Vernacular: Tanizaki Jun'ichirō and Yamada Yoshio, and Showa Restoration Thought," Journal of Japanese Studies 39, no. 1 (2013): 359- 396.

Inge, M. Thomas, "Lady Murasaki and the Craft of Fiction," South Atlantic Review 55, no. 22 (1990): 7-14.

Morris, Ivan. The World of the Shinning Prince. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1978.

Phillips, Brian, "The Tale of Genji as a Modern Novel," The Hudson Review 63, no.3 (2010): 373-390.

Rowley, G.G., "Literary Canon and National Identity: The Tale of Genji in Meiji Japan," Japan Forum 9, no. 1 (1997): 1-15.

Rowley, G.G., "Making a Living from Genji: Yosano Akiko and Her Work on The Tale of Genji," The Journal of the Association of Teachers of Japanese 25, no. 1 (1991): 27-44.

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Shikibu, Murasaki. Her Diary and Poetic Memoirs. Translated by Richard Bowring. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1982. Shikibu, Murasaki. The Tale of Genji. Translated by Royall Tyler. New York: Penguin Books Ltd., 2006.

Yoda, Tomiko, "Fractured Dialogues: Mono no aware and Poetic Communication in The Tale of Genji," Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 59, no.2 (1999): 523-557

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